Under the Mask
by snowiethesnowgirl
Summary: Marinette discovers who Chat Noir really is. This will be on hiatus for a bit, check my bio for details!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Marinette stumbled back as her knees gave out. The shock ripped through her as her transformation wore off.

"Marinette?" Tikki tittered. "Are you okay?"

But Marinette could not respond, she saw so many signs flash before her eyes as she realized how obvious it was. Even Alya had had a suspicion about his true identity. But she just could not accept that her cool, confident, and kind Adrien could possibly be...

She clambered to her feet and started the long walk home. The similarities were so obvious now that she had the connection. But, Adrien wasn't that cocky. He wasn't a flirt. But, what if, like Marinette herself, Chat Noir was a closer representation to who he really was. Marinette was always much more confident and self assured inside, but around people she could be so socially awkward. Being Ladybug let her show her true self without all the repercussions of what others might think.

She waved to her parents as she entered the bakery, then trudged up the stairs to her room. Laying back on her chaise, she closed her eyes. Her brain was swimming though so many thoughts that she didn't see the black shadow approach her window. The tap made her jump.

His grin was so much more lively than she had ever seen on his real face. He nudged the window open. "Hey, Marinette. Did you see the news?" His whole face glowed with excitement, his eyes twinkling vivid green behind his mask. "I saved Ladybug and she hugged me! I really think I'm earning her affection!"

Over the last few months, Chat Noir had been visiting Marinette often, as they had started to become friends. Marinette had a feeling that Chat only liked talking to her more since he had caught her making fun of him with hand puppets and silly faces. And since then, Adrien had also seemed to notice her more, as he and Nino had invited her and Alya to hang out many times since.

She bolted to her feet, taking a too large step forward. "Th-th-that's great, Ch-ch-chat." She stuttered out, breaking eye contact with those too familiar green eyes. How had she not seen it before?

"You okay, princess?" Chat asked, and Marinette realized it was Adrien's voice, just with a bit more confidence. She peeked up and he was a lot closer than she had thought. "You're face is all red. Are you feeling ill?"

Horror filled Marinette as she realized that she had been turning down her crush since the beginning of the akuma attacks. Her head felt light as she stumbled back onto her chaise, backing away from Chat.

"Marinette? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" He kneeled in front of her, his eyes so intensely not his. It was all she could think about. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was Adrien. He tore his glove off of one hand and pressed it against her forehead. "You're burning up! You should go lie down."

But it was too late, as he said that her body slumped forward, and she fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Chat caught the girl as she tumbled forward, her head resting on his shoulder. "Ah, Marinette, what's gotten into you today? I hope you're not too sick." He confidently swept her up into his arms and carried her up the short flight of stairs to her bed.

That was so not her, he thought. She was almost acting like she did around him at school, when he was wearing a completely different type of mask. He laid her down as gently as he could, careful to get the pillow under her head. He brushed a bit of her hair off of her face and leaned back on his heels.

"Oh, Miss Marinette. I wish I could tell you my secret, but then what would you think of me." Chat murmured."You know, if I didn't have my lady, you are a close second. I think you're just as cute, if not a bit skittish and shy sometimes."

Chat looked at her face, tinted slightly green by his mask. The red in her cheeks had faded to a soft pink. She looked like a healthy, normal girl. He wished he could talk to her as normally as Adrien as he could as Chat Noir, but then he might be giving up his secret.

His ring beeped as the time left for his transformation ticked away. "Farewell for now, princess. I'll see you again soon." With one last glance her way, Chat climbed out onto her terrace and was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** :Thanks to everyone who left me a review, I hope that you all can continue to enjoy the story. I'll try my best to continue to update on a reasonable schedule. Comments and feedback are still nice to see. And, as always, please enjoy!

 **Chapter 3**

The next morning, Marinette woke up fully dress and slightly dazed. That is, until everything came rushing back to her. Her cheeks filled with blood as she realized she had passed out last night with Cha... no, with _Adrien_ in her bedroom. She clambered down her stairs and started to wash her face, her mind completely overflowing.

A knock shocked her out of her thoughts. "Y-yes?" She timidly replied.

"Marinette, did you just wake up? You're going to be late," her mother said as she poked her head into Marinette's room. Her eyes looked her daughter up and down with concern. "Did you sleep in your clothes last night? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Ah, y-y-yes mom, I uh, um, I wasn't feeling well last night, and um, I still don't feel quite right." Marinette's red face seem to convince her mother.

"Ah, sweetheart, why don't you get changed and lay down. I'll contact your school, so you just rest and try to feel better." Her mother retreated back down the stairs quietly.

Marinette quickly got changed, taking her hair out of her messy, sleep ruffled pigtails. "Marinette!" A small voice said. "What happened yesterday? Are you alright?" Tikki floated up next to her face, trying to make eye contact as Marinette kept breaking it.

"Ah, Tikki, um, well, you see..." Marinette trailed off, trying to think about how to put what she had to say. "It, um, appears that I have, uh, seen Ch-chat N-n-noir's secret identity."

"Oh, so that's what was bothering you." Tikki giggled. "I was wondering when you would find out."

"What do you mean, 'when I would find out?'" Marinette rounded on Tikki, her eyes narrowing as suspicion clawed at her guts. "Tikki, did you know who Chat Noir was this whole time?"

The kwami giggle again, the bell-like sound filling Marinette's room. "Of course I knew. Plagg and I are always partners, we chose our hosts together. We knew that both you and Adrien were hiding your true selves deep inside, and that, when we gave you the power to reveal yourselves, you would be a perfect match." The kwami swirled around, seeming pleased with herself.

"Why didn't you tell me, Tikki? I have liked Adrien since before I met you, you knew that I liked him, why didn't you tell me that he was Chat? Especially after Chat kept flirting with me!" Marinette's face had somehow gotten even redder, so much so that it seemed to glow. It appeared that she was struggling to comprehend all of the new data she had just learned.

"Well, if I had told you, you might have acted like this during a battle, which possibly could have put you and all of Paris in trouble. So it was for the good of everyone," Tikki reasoned.

Marinette's face softened as she understood Tikki's reasoning. True, Tikki had withheld the truth from her, but wasn't she doing the same to Alya? "Oh, sorry Tikki." Marinette mumbled. "I didn't mean to blow up at you like that. I think I'm just a little overwhelmed." Marinette released a sigh, and felt all negative emotions leave her body with it. "I think I should maybe lay back down and rest. Maybe it will help me feel better."

Tikki looked a little concerned as she followed Marinette back up to her bed, but she settled down next to Marinette all the same. As Marinette's breathing slowed, Tikki curled up under her chin, floating off into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Hey, Plagg, do you think Marinette is sick? I mean, I know she wasn't feeling well yesterday, but could she really be sick? She always seems so lively," Adrien said, concern clouding his eyes.

"Ah, stop worrying about that girl and find me some cheese. I'm starving!" Plagg whined, floating quickly around Adrien's head. "I'll fade away at this rate."

Adrien started to pace around the locker room, trying to decide what to do. "Ah," He declared as an idea popped into his head. "I can ask Alya! I'm sure she's heard from Marinette today!" Adrien picked up his bag and shuffled over to the door, trying to hide his worried fidgeting.

He made his way across the courtyard, his hands tightening and retightening around his backpack straps. He stepped slowly up the stairs and into the classroom, his eyes locking on to Marinette's empty seat first, then flicking over to Alya. He tried to maintain his calm demeanor as he made his way to his seat.

Once in his seat, he leaned back, trying to seem casual. "Hey, Alya. Where's Marinette today? Running late?"

"Marinette? She texted me that she wasn't feeling well. I was going to go check on her after school." Alya replied, curiosity flashing across her face. Nino turned in his chair, making quick eye contact with Alya before he chimed in.

"Alya, can I come see her? It would be such a _shame_ if she didn't know her classmates care about her health." Alya winked at Nino, a small smile flittering across her lips.

"Why yes Nino, that would be wonderful. I'm sure Marinette would appreciate a visit." Alya turned back to Adrien, a devious smirk settling across her face. "Adrien, would you care to join us? The more the merrier, as they say."

Put on the spot, Adrien floundered for words. "Well, um, y-yeah, I guess I could come too." Remembering his manners, he added, "If it wouldn't be that much of a bother, that it."

"Oh, no! I'm sure Marinette will be delighted to see you. Maybe it's just what she needs to help her feel better." She exchanged a meaningful look with Nino before she settled back into her chair, typing into her phone with dexterous fingers.

Nino's phone went off, but Adrien ignored it, thinking it must just be a coincidence. Alya was always on her phone, she was probably just updating her blog or something. It wasn't suspicious for either of them to be on their devices, so Adrien zoned off until the teacher came into the room to start teaching.

A/N : Buckle up guys, I hope you're ready for some DjWiFi scheming. It's coming up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A/N :** Scheming time, hope you guys enjoy it. Btw, I totally ship DjWifi. Also, thanks to everyone who left me a review. They're all greatly appreciated!

"So we're clear on the plan, then?" Alya asked. "We wait until the end of the day, then bail on Adrien, claiming we have other plans, and make him take Marinette the homework and notes she missed."

Nino nodded in agreement, and piped in. "Maybe this'll be enough for Adrien to finally realize how much Marinette likes him. I think that they would be so good together, if Marinette could stop all the stuttering around him." Nino grinned at their devious scheming, glad that Alya and he could work together for their friends.

"I just hope she can confess one day. I think it would take a huge weight off of her shoulders." Alya stated, smiling sweetly back at Nino. "Come on, we have to get back to class before the teacher notices."

"I can't believe both Alya and Nino forgot that they had prior engagements. It just seems so fishy." Adrien told Plagg as they made their way to Marinette's house after school. "I mean, what are the odds that they would both have plans, and that they would both forget them? But they can't be setting me up, or anything. It's just taking Marinette her homework."

Plagg sighed, exasperated. "Adrien, can you please just get me some cheese? I've been hungry all day."

"Plagg, look, I'll get you some cheese after we see how- I mean, after we deliver this homework to Marinette." Adrien had grown slightly irritated by Plagg now, after listening to him whine and huff all day about cheese. He had eaten and entire wheel of brie that morning, he shouldn't even be hungry after that.

As they rounded the corner onto Marinette's street, Adrien's eyes drifted up to the terrace on her roof. He saw the soft sway of leaves in the wind and a flash of black-blue hair as it disappeared from view.

"She must be feeling better to have made it up to her roof. I bet the sunlight is doing wonders to make her feel better, too." Adrien speed up a little, eager to see how his friend was doing.

When he got to the corner, he went into the bakery, the bell on the door dinging to alert others to his presence. Mrs. Cheng was behind the counter, handing change back to a customer. "I'll be right with you, dear." She called toward Adrien as he took in the bakery. The smell of fresh bread wafted around him, reminding him of last night, when he had been in Marinette's room. Her home always smelled of fresh bread, it was part of the reason he liked it here.

The customer left, and Mrs. Cheng turned to him. "How can I help you today?" She asked.

"Ah, I'm here to deliver Marinette's homework. Is she feeling any better?" Adrien inquired, hoping that she was.

"Ah, yes, she's upstairs. Wasn't Alya supposed to bring the that, though?" She stated, seeming confused.

"Ah, well, she forgot she had other plans, so she asked me to do it." Adrien clarified.

"Okay, well, just head through that door," she pointed towards the back of the bakery. The bell above the door chimed again. "Then go up the stairs. Knock on the door, Marinette will let you in." She turned to the new customer and greeted them cheerfully as Adrien headed towards the door.

 **A/N:** I hope you guys are totally ready for ridiculously awkward encounter.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** So... so far, this is my favorite chapter to have written. And I really hope you guys like it as much as I do. So please please please tell me if you do. I want to skweeeee with all of you. And again, thank you everyone who has left a review. Please continue to enjoy what I produce, and I'll try to continue to produce it.

 **Chapter 6**

Marinette put a pickle on the plate with her sandwich, glad that there was always bread in her home. She had spent the day thinking through the whole Adrien/Chat Noir thing. Finally accepting it, she had been able to relax, reading a fashion magazine while reclining on her chaise.

While most of the day had passed in a blur, she had spent a good part of it trying to tame her hair back into pigtails. But after several failed attempts she had given up, so it was swaying softly against her shoulders as she cut her sandwich in half.

As she made her was to the table to eat, there was a knock on the door. "Maybe Alya finally made her way over," Marinette murmured to herself. She walked over to the door, taking in a deep breath. As she opened the door she smiled brightly and said, "Hey, how was school today?"

And then she realized that a bewildered Adrien was at her door. "Well, it was kind of school-like?" The smile fell off of her face as she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. "So how was your day?"

Marinette tilted her head so that her hair created a curtain, then mumbled, "I'm feeling a bit better, but I was kind of sick this morning." Adrien's eyes were locked on her, making her even more nervous. Maybe she wasn't as okay with the whole Adrien/Chat Noir thing as she thought.

"So, um, can I maybe come in? I have your homework for today." Adrien gestured towards her living room. Marinette took a few small steps back to allow Adrien to walk past. "The bakery smells as good as always. It must be nice to always have fresh bread, huh?"

"Y-yeah," she stammered out. "So, um, why isn't, uh, Alya bringing me the work?" Marinette was sort of proud of the fact that she didn't stutter while saying that, but then she remembered _Adrien_ was in her house.

"Oh, well, she and Nino were both planning on coming over, but then they both told me they forgot about prior plans, so... " Adrien paused, gauging her reaction. "Here I am."

"Uh, yeah. Here you are." Marinette would not keep eye contact with him. If she did, she might just burst, saying she knew all about his secret. She sat back down at the table, picking up half of her sandwich and biting off a small piece. Adrien sat down next to her, eyeing her sandwich enviously. "Do you- I mean, um, would you like the other half?" Marinette said, a few crumbs escaping her mouth, her embarrassment growing.

"Ah, well, only if that's okay with you. It just looks really good." Marinette nodded, pushing the plate towards him until he picked up the other half.

They ate in silence for a little bit before either of them said anything. "So, you have a nice house." Adrien started, trying to figure out how to start an actual conversation.

"Yeah, I like it." Marinette replied, smartly. "I mean, I normally spend most of my time in my room, making new designs."

Adrien's eyes brightened. "Oh, yeah, right. You do a lot of fashion design. Did you do any of that today?" Trying to keep the conversation rolling, he clung to every word. This was more than she ever talked to him when he wasn't Chat.

"Well, I mostly read some fashion magazine today. I did sketch a few new designs, which I hope to improve over the next few days." Marinette reached for a butter knife that was next to her plate. As she continued to speak, she cut the pickle in half. "I hope that making some mock-ups will be possible by next week. Did you want half of the pickle?"

Adrien nodded, biting down on his piece of the half-sour dill. Maybe keeping quite was the key to making Marinette comfortable. "What kind of designs did you come up with?"

"Um, well, a few sun dresses, a man's sport jacket, a couple of purses." Adrien watched, as a piece of her hair flopped into her face. Before he could stop himself, he had batted it away.

Marinette blinked at him, eyes wide. "Ah, sorry, it was bothering me." Adrien felt a some red poor into his cheeks. The words rushed out of his mouth. "Um, well, so you have the homework. I guess I'll be on my way. I'm glad you're feeling better. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye"

And with that, he rushed back down the stairs and into the bakery.

 **A/N:** Are you skweeeee-ing yet? It will hopefully only get more awkward and better from here.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** So here we go. Trying to get some more Andriette interaction. Let's see what happens.

 **Chapter 7**

Marinette slowly blinked. She was in a state of shock. Adrien Agreste had just brushed her hair out of her face. She had shared a sandwich with him. She had talked to him and she had not stuttered. Her cheeks were warm, but not the blazing heat she was used to. She slowly stood up and took her plate to the sink, where she deposited it. Then she went back up to her room.

Tikki was waiting for her. "So did Alya bring you your homework? How much have you got?" She bubbled eagerly.

"Well, Alya sent Adrien to give me my-" She cut off as she realized what was missing. "Adrien didn't give me the homework..."

"Shoot, that was so dumb. Why did I do that?" Adrien was pacing aggressively in the park. "I just reflexively mover her hair. I do it all the time as Chat. I shouldn't have done that!"

"Well, Adrien, maybe its time to admit it to yourself." Plagg added in from where he was laying on top of Adrien's bag.

"Admit what to myself?" Adrien asked, puzzled.

Plagg gave him an exasperated look. "Well, I think it's quite obvious that you care for Marinette."

"Wha- no- what do you mean? I love Ladybug, Plagg, I don't need anyone else." Adrien resumed him pacing. "And what do you mean by obvious?"

"Well," Plagg started. "You've been worried about her all day. It's all been 'Marinette this' and 'Marinette that.' And you can totally like two people at once. Ladybug might be your perfect lady, but she is unattainable."

Adrien shoved his hands into his hair, ruffling it out of place. "Well, Marinette is nice and sweet, but Ladybug is... perfect." He sat down on the bench next to his bag, placing his head in his hands. His cheeks still burnt with the embarrassment of his bold action. He thought about Marinette, and how good she had looked with her hair down. His face got hotter.

"How can I possibly like-"

"Adrien!" His head promptly snapped up. Marinette was running towards him, waving her hand to try to get his attention. As she drew near, she slowed down, until she was standing right in front of him. She had put her hair back into her pigtails, all of it tucked away neatly.

"Uh, hi Marinette." Adrien greeted. "Getting some fresh air?"

"Ah, well, kind of." She gave him a nervous smile. "You stopped by earlier to give me my homework? But I don't remember you actually giving it to me." Her cheeks were pink, probably from the exertion of her trip over here. Maybe she was still a little sick. "Um... Adrien?"

"Wha? Oh, your homework. Right. Sorry." He reached into his back, pulling out a few sheets of paper, which he handed over to her. "Here you go. Sorry about that."

"Ah, it's okay," she rushed. "I kind of distracted you with food and fashion talk. Sorry about that." She took a glance at the homework, then sighed. "Shoot."

"What's the matter?" Adrien asked before he could help himself.

"Ah, well, it's physics. And I'm just not very good at that, so it's gonna take me a while to finish it." She replied. "I better get going, I have to start this soon." She moved to get up from the bench, but then Adrien's arm reached out, almost by its own volition.

"Ah, sorry," he stammered, releasing her arm. "I was just thinking, maybe I could help? I'm kind of good at physics."

"Really? You'd do that for me? That would be great!" Her whole face lit up with happiness. She smiled so sweetly, and Adrien's face went hot again. He looked away.

"Yeah, just let me go home first. I'll come back over to your house in about an hour?"

Adrien asked.

Marinette nodded eagerly."I'll see you then." And with that she walked off towards her home.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N :** Hey guys, sorry about how bad I am about uploading new chapters. It was just really hard to write this week, so I hope you guys can understand. All of your nice comments helped me to move forward and continue to write this, so please bear with me. Thank you all for the nice comments. Also, if anyone has any good physics puns that can be used in normal conversation that aren't pick up lines, please pm me or leave it in a comment. I'm trying to make Adrien punny and I'm awful at puns. Thank you again for continue to read my story, I hope you all can continue to enjoy it!

 **Chapter 8**

Marinette walked home, heart nearly skipping at the excitement of what had just happened. Adrien had offered to help her study. He was going to come over to her house and help her with her physics homework. He would be in her room, sitting with her at her desk, helping her with the formulas and problems that filled her physics homework.

Then she froze. There were pictures of Adrien on her walls. He must have seen them before. Her heart speed up, her face heating with sheer embarrassment. Chat Noir must have seen it before. Hundreds of times. What had he thought when he'd seen them. She hoped he hadn't realized that she liked him.

She scurried through the bakery and up to her room, pacing as she thought about what to do. Did she take down the pictures and risk him realizing that they were missing? Then she would be hiding it, and it would only make her crush more obvious.

"Marinette?" Her mother poked her head through the trap door. "I just made some cookies, would you like to have some?"

"Ah, thanks mom." Marinette replied. An idea popped into her mind. "Um, actually, could you leave a few? My friend Adrien is going to come over to help me study."

Sabine's eyes narrowed. "Is that the boy who brought your homework over earlier?" Marinette nodded, and her mother's face split into a wide smile. "What a nice boy. I'll bring up some milk to go with the cookies when he gets here." Her mother retreated back downstairs.

Refocusing on her room, Marinette cleaned a bit, straightening a pile of books, moving the magazines off the chaise, and placing her diary box into the drawer. Last thing she needed was Adrien trying to get into that, much less succeeding and discovering that she was Ladybug.

"Marinette," she heard her mother call. "You have company." And with that, she stopped fusing with her things and hurried downstairs.

Marinette's mother was smiling at him. "So you're Adrien? And you're going to help my daughter with her homework?"

"Ah, yes ma'am. Physics happens to be my best subject." His eyes darted around the room, trying not to focus too much on any one thing. His gaze is dragged to the stairs as Marinette bustles down. He felt a small smile tug at his lips. "Hey."

"Alright, why don't you two head upstairs and start on that homework. I'll be up in a couple of minute with a snack, okay?" Sabine waved them up the stairs as she walked towards the kitchen, starting to prep a tray of snacks.

Adrien followed Marinette up into her too familiar room, the pink walls bringing back many fond memories. His eyes fell onto many pictures of himself, all from magazines and ads.

Marinette caught his eye for a second. "I liked the pictures." Her cheeks were pink. "I think it's a combination of the clothes and the pose. And, I mean, probably the locations, too."

"Nah, it's cool. This one was one of my favorites." He said, pointing. "The outfit was one of the most comfortable I've had to wear, and the pose felt so natural."

Marinette smiled, pulling a second chair over to her desk. "Can we get started? I feel like this is going to take me a while," she said smiling sweetly.

"Yeah, sure." Adrien took a seat. "So is it the formulas that you have a problem with? It can really hard to remember them all."

"Um, I think it's kind of a combination of the formulas and the math behind them." She replied, biting her lip. Adrien ripped his eyes away.

"Okay, so let's start and we'll see what happens."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Wow, sorry for the wait. I know, I know, this chapter is a bit short, but I'm trying to get to the good bits. At least there's a bit of interaction, or something.

 **Chapter 9**

An hour later, Marinette finally puts down her pencil. "Thank goodness that's finally done!" She stretches her arms high over her head, loosening her tense muscles.

Adrien smiles, and picks up one of the remaining cookies. "I can see why your parents run such a successful bakery. These cookies are so good!"

Marinette giggles. "Yeah? Well, I'm sure my mom will be glad to hear that." She stands up, trying to work out all the kinks in her shoulders. "Thank you so much for that help, I would have been stuck on that for hours."

"No problem. I got free food out of it." Adrien replies, mumbling through a mouthful of crumbs. Swallowing, he eyes Marinette, then gathers up all of his courage. "So, uh, since I'm already here, should we do something else? We could play a game or something?" He suggests, his face going pink once more.

Marinette shrugs in response. "Sure, we could play a game. I'm just going to warn you, if you stick around much longer, my mother is going to invite you to dinner."

Adrien grinned, glad that she hadn't shot him down. "Honestly, the stuff I've had to eat i your house is some of the best food I've ever eaten, so I think dinner would be just as good."

"Okay, so let me just grab some controllers and we can play something." Marinette held up a finger in a 'one moment' sign, then dashed downstairs.

"Smooth Adrien. Keep acting like this and she'll think you're a creep." He muttered to himself.

"Well, she definitely will if she catches you talking to yourself, you know." Plagg declared as he burst out of his hiding place in Adrien's book bag.

"Plagg! Get back in there. She could be back up at any second!" Adrien grabbed at Plagg, trying to get him back into his bag, but the kwami dodged all of his attempts. "Plagg, please." Adrien begged.

Plagg sighed, "Fine, but you own me so much camembert when we get back to your house." Plagg crawled back into the bag just as Marinette came back up.

Another hour later, Marinette set down her controller. "I'm sorry, " she said, wringing her hands.

"Marinette, you are crushing me, how are you this good at this?" Adrien asked, dropping his controller on the desk.

"Sorry, sorry. My dad and I play a lot of games together. So I got good at some of them." She claimed, smiling at the slight compliment. "So, dinner should be ready about now. Do you want to go check? We could set the table or something."

"Yeah, sure." Adrien nodded. "Any idea what's on the menu?" He looked towards the trap door, sniffing the air.

"Ah, well, I'm not sure. Maybe soup?" She answered warily, moving towards the door. Reaching down, she pulled up the door. She looked back up, and jumped at Adrien's proximity.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." Adrien started. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not really use to eating with other people, so I'm a little excited for dinner."

Feeling a little sorry for how badly she always teased Chat for how excited he got around food, she relied."Ah, it's okay. Let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey guys, so here we go. Getting further into a story that I feel I have very little control over. Seriously. The words just kinda spill out when I'm writing. I don't know whats going to happen. I just wanted to say, I'm not sure if there will be much, if any, Ladybug, as Marinette only transforms when there is an akuma, and I'm not exactly sure how that would fit in at this time, and who would be akuma-tized, nor what their power would be. But who knows, maybe I'll come up with something. Stay tuned, as this will hopefully continue to come easy, and I'll continue to be able to update every week. Thanks to everyone who wrote a review, they're always so encouraging. Enjoy!

 **EDIT: Guys, I'm so sorry, but Under the Mask is going to be on hiatus for a bit. My computer died, and of course I didn't have the unpublished parts of my story saved on an external device, so I have to either get a new computer and fetch them off the old hard drive, fix my old computer, or rewrite all of it, all of which will probably take some time. I do plan on continuing this story, so I hope all of you will continue to be patient with me. Thank you for your support, and I hope to be back to posting as soon as possible.**

 **Chapter 10**

After an embarrassing dinner with her parents cooing over Adrien and giving him seconds and thirds, Marinette walked him to the door.

"Thanks for helping me with my homework. I really appreciate it." She said, leaning on the door jam. "You're really smart."

"Ah, it was no problem, Mari, I just-" They both froze at his use of a nickname, faces reddening. Not making eye contact, Adrien blurted out. "Ah, sorry, didn't mean to say that. Um." He looked up at her, her eyes locked on his face, seeing his blush.

"N-no, it's fine. You can call me Mari, I'm fine with it," she felt herself stammer. "Um, so, try to get how safe, okay?"

"Ah, yeah, goodnight." And with that, her turned and walked away from her.

Making her way back towards the stairs, her parents caught her. "Marinette, why didn't you tell us you had such a nice _friend_?" Her mother inquired. "And such a good appetite on that boy too. So polite." Her father added.

"Um, well, I'm gonna go to sleep, okay, goodnight." She claimed as she bolted for her room. Reaching it, she shut the door tightly behind her, then made her way to her desk.

Adrien had helped her with her homework, and then he had been willing to hang around and play a game. He had even sat through an extremely awkward dinner with her parents. What did that mean?

"So he finally left?" Tikki asked, peeking out of one of her favorite hiding places. "Did you have a good time?"

"Ah, yeah Tikki, it was really nice. I can totally see him being Chat now, too. He is always trying to add puns into things. He even managed to crack some physics jokes over homework." Marinette felt a smile cross her lips.

"So, you're done freaking out over it?" Tikki said, concerned.

"Well, I don't see him finding out about me any time soon, but I think I can like with Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste being the same person." She stated, rolling ideas around in her mind. "I think I'm going to call it a night, Tikki. I'm exhausted."

Adrien walked home, the crisp night air ruffling his hair. He had thoroughly enjoyed his night, right up to that terribly timed nickname sneaking out. He still felt so stuffed from the delicious food her parents had made, and he had a bag full of goodies that her father had snuck him on his way out.

He took a deep breath of the fresh air, and thought about Marinette. She was pretty, and sweet, and she could kick ass in video games. So what if she wasn't good at physics, she was human. And human had faults. Ladybug didn't have any faults, but yet she also may be thousands of years old. Adrien had no idea who she was under the mask, and based off of her actions, she had no desire to ever show him. He had always known it was a long shot, but maybe that was why he had fantasized about her.

He stopped and thought. Ladybug, although perfect, was completely unattainable. Marinette was far from perfect, but she made up for that with all of her good qualities. Maybe it was time for him to get over his childish crush on an idol. As Plagg had said earlier, he very well could have feelings for two people at the same time.

He walked up the steps and into his house, careful to be quite. Goodness forbid that he make noise if his father was home. He snuck up to his room, where he closed the door. He made his way over to his desk, where he threw his bag down and collapsed into his chair.  
"Hey, Plagg. We're home now. You want your camembert?" He asked, reaching into the mini-fridge by his desk.

"Of course I do!" Plagg replied immediately, flying out of his bag. Biting into the cheese, he muttered, "Oh, my dear camembert. How tasty you are!"

Adrien went over to his bed. Lying back, he looked at his ceiling, trying to figure out his feelings. "Hey, Plagg. I think you're right." He admitted. "I still love Ladybug, but I also like Marinette." He peered over at Plagg, who was still happily eating away at his cheese. "How am I supposed to face her, after that awkward goodbye? The night was going so well, too."

"Adrien, based on how the girl acted around you, I think it's safe to assume that she's fine with the nickname. She didn't get outraged. And she even told you to get home safe afterward." Plagg took another large bite, his next words coming out slightly muffled. "I say sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning, and see how she reacts to you tomorrow."

Looking at Plagg, happily biting into the cheese, Adrien felt like a weight was being lifted slightly off his chest. "Yeah, you're right. I'll worry about it tomorrow. I guess I'll go to sleep. Night, Plagg."


End file.
